The Latest: Ex-Olympic coach out as Seattle swim program CEO

Updated 11:16 pm, Thursday, February 8, 2018

Photo: Lee Jin-man, AP

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FILE - In this July 30, 2012, file photo, United States' Ariana Kukors competes in a women's 200-meter individual medley swimming heat at the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park during the Summer Olympics in London. Investigators have searched the Seattle home of a former U.S. Olympic Team swimming coach amid allegations that he sexually abused and took explicit photos of Kukors when she was underage.Homeland Security taskforce investigators along with police in Washington state served a search warrant at 46-year-old Sean Hutchison’s Seattle apartment Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018, recovering electronic devices they say may contain evidence, the SeattlePI reported. less

FILE - In this July 30, 2012, file photo, United States' Ariana Kukors competes in a women's 200-meter individual medley swimming heat at the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park during the Summer Olympics in ... more

Photo: Lee Jin-man, AP

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FILE - In this Aug. 3, 2010, file photo, Ariana Kukors looks on after winning the women's 200-meter individual medley at the U.S. championships swim meet in Irvine, Calif. The U.S. Olympic champion swimmer has accused a team coach of sexually abusing her starting when she was 16, the latest misconduct allegations against those charged with caring for young athletes. Ariana Kukors, now 28, told authorities that Sean Hutchison sexually abused her as a minor and took thousands of sexually explicit photographs of her. less

FILE - In this Aug. 3, 2010, file photo, Ariana Kukors looks on after winning the women's 200-meter individual medley at the U.S. championships swim meet in Irvine, Calif. The U.S. Olympic champion swimmer has ... more

Photo: Mark J. Terrill, AP

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FILE - In this July 25, 2011, file photo, Ariana Kukors, of the United States, holds her bronze medal for the women's 200-meter Individual Medley final at the FINA 2011 Swimming World Championships in Shanghai, China. The U.S. Olympic champion swimmer has accused a team coach of sexually abusing her starting when she was 16, the latest misconduct allegations against those charged with caring for young athletes. Ariana Kukors, now 28, told authorities that Sean Hutchison sexually abused her as a minor and took thousands of sexually explicit photographs of her. less

FILE - In this July 25, 2011, file photo, Ariana Kukors, of the United States, holds her bronze medal for the women's 200-meter Individual Medley final at the FINA 2011 Swimming World Championships in Shanghai, ... more

Photo: Michael Sohn, AP

The Latest: Ex-Olympic coach out as Seattle swim program CEO

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SEATTLE (AP) — The Latest on sex abuse allegations against a former Olympic swim coach (all times local):

6 p.m.

An official with a Seattle-area swimming program says CEO Sean Hutchison has left the post amid sexual abuse allegations.

King Aquatic Club head coach Michael Brooks said in a statement Thursday afternoon that Hutchison "has had no direct interaction with our swimmers for a very long time."

U.S. Olympic champion swimmer Ariana Kukors has accused Hutchison of sexually abusing her starting when she was 16. Court documents say the now-28-year-old told authorities that he also took thousands of sexually explicit photographs of her when she was a minor and began grooming her for abuse when she started swimming with King Aquatics at age 13.

Hutchison denies abusing Kukors.

Hutchison left a Southern California program where he trained young women on the U.S. team in 2010 after speculation that he was sexually involved with a swimmer. He denied it.

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4:15 p.m.

A former teammate of a U.S. Olympic swimmer who accused a coach of underage sexual abuse says she wasn't aware of any misconduct but that rumors were rampant that the two were in a relationship.

She says she wishes she had "realized it could have started earlier and could have been abuse."

Kukors says Hutchison groomed her for sexual abuse when she was 13 and he was her coach at a Seattle-area swim club. She says it turned sexual when she was 16.

Hutchison denies abusing Kukors.

Hoelzer said Thursday that she never heard of Hutchison sexually abusing anyone but that he was emotionally and verbally abusive to her. She says Hutchison was partly why she retired in 2010.

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1:25 p.m.

The U.S. governing body for swimming says it only recently learned of sexual abuse allegations against a former Olympic coach by world champion Ariana Kukors.

USA Swimming said in a statement Thursday that Kukors' public statement this week marked the first time it "learned of the allegations that Sean Hutchison sexually abused Ariana when she was a minor."

Hutchison has denied the allegations.

USA Swimming said it hired an independent private investigator in 2010 after learning of rumored relationship between Hutchison and Kukors, then 21. The organization said both denied a romantic or sexual relationship and the investigation was closed with no misconduct found.

USA Swimming said it sent that case file to the U.S. Center for SafeSport when notified in January of a case against Hutchison.

It says it stands by Kukors.

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12:55 p.m.

A former Olympic swimming coach has denied what he called "wild" sexual misconduct allegations against him by world champion Ariana Kukors.

Sean Hutchison said in a statement Thursday through his attorney that at no time did he ever abuse Kukors or do anything with her that was not consensual.

Kukors accused him of sexually abusing her starting when she was 16. Court documents say she told authorities that he also took thousands of sexually explicit photographs of her when she was a minor and groomed her for abuse when she was 13.

Hutchison denied "having any sexual or romantic relationship with her before she was old enough to legally make those decisions for herself" and did nothing to groom her.

The allegations come as U.S. authorities and police searched Hutchison's Seattle apartment this week.

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9:10 p.m.

Investigators have searched the Seattle home of a former U.S. Olympic Team swimming coach amid allegations that he sexually abused and took explicit photos of an underage athlete.

Ariana Kukors, a member of the 2012 Olympic team, said in a statement to the media outlet Wednesday that she went to police recently with claims that Hutchison used his position as her longtime coach to "groom her" for abuse.

Hutchison left a Southern California program where he trained young women on the U.S. team in 2010 after speculation that he was sexually involved with a swimmer. He denied it.

Hutchison didn't immediately respond to an email for comment Wednesday.